Customer Reviews

Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure

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If you are interested in counselling and have a soft spot for the exuberant, exasperating, funny and irrepressible Toad - the riverbank celebrity in Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows - you will find Robert de Board's book absorbing, amusing and informative. On a belated visit to Toad Hall, Mole finds the formerly splendid gardens overgrown, the once grand entertaining rooms and guest rooms closed up, and his erstwhile hero and friend Toad reduced to the state of embarrassed and unkempt hermit in his own kitchen. What will happen now that Toad's bonhomie has bottomed out? Will the wildwooders will finally gain the upper hand? And, worst of all, is the riverbank to lose its most colourful character?

Relating his discovery to Ratty, the riverbank friends decide that there is only one road left for Toad to travel; the path of self-discovery and personal development through counselling. But de Board's book is touching and engaging rather than po-faced or pontificating, as it traces this most life-changing of Toad's adventures. In keeping with the best of humorous writing, Counselling for Toads, is serious at heart. This is likely to make it especially palatable to those with a healthy streak of scepticism about the value of therapy. de Board gives an excellent introduction to the aims of counselling, the nature of the therapeutic relationship and the nuts and bolts of Transactional Analysis. While it is easy to read, it does not shy away from technical terms where these are necessary.

Discover the roots of Toad's penchant for adventure as he tells Heron, his counsellor, of his childhood and his relationships with family and friends. Toad's encounter with therapy turns out to be an education not only for this deserving hero, but for all those who would be close to him.

I loved this book. As a counsellor I often have difficulty trying to explain what I do. This book for me has two main factors. Firstly it gives the reader a insight in the counselling skills and how they are utilised with the counselling process thus expalining how the counselling process works. Secondly by incorperating this into a story it makes it easier for more people to read. I want to share this book with many people.

I have read alot of books in 56 years and this ranks in the top 5 of my all time list .It should be rquired reading for every high school student in the country.